TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Police name 30 suspects for allegedly spreading COVID-19 hoaxes
The police have named eight more suspects for allegedly spreading false information pertaining to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Police chief Sr. Comr. Adi Ferdian (center), airport authority head Herson (left) and PT Angkasa Pura II executive general manager Agus Haryadi (right) display evidence in an alleged false information case at the airport in Tangerang, Banten on Feb. 28. (Antara/Fauzan)
T
he National Police have named 30 individuals across the country by Thursday as suspects for allegedly spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We named 22 suspects for allegedly spreading fake news on Tuesday. We named eight more on Thursday,” National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Asep Adi Saputra told journalists on Thursday.
He added that the police in West Kalimantan and West Java had named more suspects than police had in other provinces with four suspects each. Officers in South Sulawesi, Lampung and East Kalimantan had named three suspects each, while the Jakarta Police named two individuals as suspects.
Despite naming 30 individuals as alleged false news suspects, the police had only placed two of them into custody, as most of them were deemed cooperative during interrogation.
Read also: How to play your part in the battle against COVID-19 hoaxes, misinformation
A suspect in West Kalimantan was detained after investigators found he was not being cooperative during the questioning.
“Apart from him, we have also confined another suspect in the East Jakarta Police headquarters,” Asep said, without elaborating.
The Communications and Information Ministry identified on Tuesday 242 hoaxes pertaining to COVID-19 being distributed on the internet, including in social media, websites and short message applications. The number had increased from 196 on the same period a week earlier.
The Indonesian Ulema Council has also urged Muslims not to spread hoaxes and false information regarding the disease, as the council had issued a fatwa on Tuesday declaring such wrongdoing haram. (glh)
